Rickenbach NHL Game #78 Thursday 8* Montreal Canadiens Money Line (-) vs Carolina Hurricanes @ 7:35 ET - Both teams are off bad losses but the difference here is the Hurricanes have not been scoring goals, the Canadiens are on home ice, and Montreal has revenge. All those factors add up to mean great line value with the small home favorite in this match-up. The Habs lost to the Canes 2-1 a little over two weeks ago here in Montreal but the Canadiens outshot Carolina 49-22 in that unreal loss! Also, prior to getting drilled 7-1 at Minnesota on Tuesday, the Canadiens had scored an average of 3.8 goals per game in their233- 5 prior games. Conversely, the Hurricanes 4-1 home loss to Toronto was the 6th time in Carolina's last 7 games that they've been held to 2 or less goals. In fact, the Canes are averaging only 1.4 goals per game their last 7 games! The Canadiens are a perfect 5-0 this season after a game in which they were held to 1 goal or less. The Hurricanes are 23-36 long-term (including 2-4 this season) in road games with a posted total of 5.5 goals. 8* MONTREAL

Rickenbach NHL Game #75 Thursday 8* Toronto Maple Leafs Money Line (+) @ Tampa Bay Lightning @ 7:35 ET - Toronto is trying to prove they can compete with the elite in the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs have been trying to get to "next level" and this is their first opportunity against the Lightning this season. After losing both games at Tampa Bay last season, look for them to make this one count! The Bolts have actually won 7 straight games entering this contest and all have been without goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Now the Lightning #1 netminder may make his return tonight. If he plays, he will be rusty. If he is still out, the Tampa Bay back-up between the pipes knows his time is up and he's looking over his shoulder. These are the types of situations that have yielded great "fade" results in the past and I am happy to fade Tampa in this spot. The Leafs are a quality team that wants this game badly and will be flying all over the ice truly "carrying the play" in this game in my opinion. Note that the Maple Leafs have been at their best against quality teams this season as they've won 10 of 13 games against teams with a winning record. The Lightning are 21-19 (DOWN $12,100!) when they enter a game on a winning streak of 3 or more games. 8* TORONTO

Rickenbach NHL Game #71 Thursday 8* Arizona Coyotes Money Line (+) @ Buffalo Sabres @ 7:05 ET - The Sabres are off a win but had previously lost 5 straight games. The momentum from their recent surprising winning streak that ran through November 27th is long gone. Now Buffalo has to deal with a revenge-minded Arizona team that suffered a 3-0 home shutout to the Sabres on October 13th despite the Coyotes holding a 36-23 edge in shots on goal. Don't be surprised when Arizona gets their revenge tonight as the road team has won each of the last 3 meetings between these non-conference foes. The Coyotes are 4-2 this season when on the road and on a losing streak of 2 or more games. While Arizona now knows goalie Antti Raanta is likely out for the season, the Sabres Carter Hutton could be back tonight. That means if Linus Ullmark gets the start he'll still be looking over his shoulder knowing Hutton is coming back. If Hutton gets the start don't be surprised if he is rusty making his first start in a week and a half. While it is true the Sabres are on an extended homestand here, it is also true they have lost 15 of 20 when they enter a game having played each of their 3 prior games on home ice. 8* ARIZONA

Thursday Thrasher - Rickenbach CBB Game #602 Thursday 10* Top Play Samford Bulldogs (-) vs Morehead State Eagles @ 7:30 ET - When I saw this game was coming up I knew I would be involved after what I witnessed Monday with Morehead State. The Eagles were down by 20 at half at Marshall and still down by 21 with under 2 minutes to go. I was holding a Thundering Herd ticket at -13. The game should be over. Inexplicably Morehead State finished the game on an 11-2 run to lose by 12. First off when a team is down that much there is no chance of a comeback and so usually the trailing team wouldn't even get off enough shots to even have a chance to score 11 points! It was one of the most unbelievable losses I have been a part of and I have been wagering for over 25 years now. We'll get payback tonight. In lined games, the Eagles have now been held to 36.2% or less from the field in 4 straight games! They are facing a Samford team that plays much better defense than they do. Morehead State is allowing 46.9% from the field this season while the Bulldogs are allowing just 37.9% from the field this season. The Eagles also do not defend the 3-point shot nearly as well as Samford does. The Bulldogs were done in by injuries last season but are well-coached and have bounced right back early this season. Samford is 8-2 on the season and the only losses were to Ohio State and an OT loss to Belmont whom plays in the same Ohio Valley Conference that Morehead State does. But Belmont won 24 games last season while the Eagles won only 8 games! Morehead State is on an 8-13 ATS run in non-conference games while the Bulldogs are 9-0 ATS this season! 10* SAMFORD

Total of the Week - Rickenbach NBA Game #561 Thursday 10* Top Play OVER the total in San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Clippers @ 8:35 ET - The Spurs have had back to back unders in their last two games but the over was 10-1 in their 11 prior games. Also, the over is a perfect 4-0 in San Antonio's last 4 games versus Los Angeles. The Clippers are on a 12-3-1 run to the over in their last 16 games. The Spurs are 9-2 to the over in their games against teams with a winning record this season. The Clips are 39-18 to the over (including 11-2 this season) when off a game in which they allowed 115 points or more. Look for the defensive struggles of LA to continue in this one but also note that Los Angeles has averaged 114.5 points per game in their last two games versus the Spurs. More of the same here. 10* OVER the total in San Antonio

Contrarian Crusher - Rickenbach NFL Game #301 Thursday 10* Top Play Los Angeles Chargers (+) @ Kansas City Chiefs @ 8:20 ET - This is contrarian all the way. The Chiefs have won 9 straight meetings with the Chargers and yet opened up as only a 3-point favorite at home here. Of course the line has already gone up a little (3.5 as of early game day morning) but an upset is likely here. The Chargers out-gained the Chiefs by nearly 200 yards in the first meeting in Los Angeles but fell short on the scoreboard. Payback time here. LA is on a 12-3-1 ATS run as a road dog in divisional games. Kansas City is just 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games. 10* LOS ANGELES CHARGERS